George stegk



2 Sheets-Sheet l.

Patented Mar. 19, 1889.

INVENTDR,

QSTEGK.

PIANO. 1

W EM (No Model.)

WITN ESSES (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. G. STEOK.

' PIANO. N0. 399,710. Patented Mar. 19, 1889.

WITNESSEE, INVENTUR' UNITED STATES PATENT @FFIIQE.

GEORGE STECK, OF NEYV YORK, N. Y.

PlANO.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Fatent No. 399,710, dated March19, 1889.

Application filed October 4,1888. Serial No. 287,190. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE STEOK, of New York, county and State of NewYork, have invented an Improved Piano, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to various improvements in stringless pianos.

It consists in the features of construction more fully pointed out inthe claim.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a Vertical transverse sectionthrough my improved piano on line 00 a, Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a horizontalsection on line y y, Fig. l.

The letter a represents a piano-case con taining a suitable action, ofwhich. I) is the hammer, and c the key.

(Z are the steel springs that produce the sound. I wish to employsprings of the kind that are formed of a straight shank and adownwardly-extending spially-coiled head, as I have found such springsto produce the richest notes. The difficulty in the employment of sprins of this kind, when used in connection with hammers and dampers, is toso construct the parts that both the hammers and the damper-lifters willclear the heads of the springs. This difficulty I overcome by placingthe hammer and damper on opposite sides of the coiled head of thespringthat is to say, the shank of each spring (I is at tached to a railin the forward part of the piano-case, while the damper-lifter projectsupward between the coil of the spring and the back plate of thepiano-case. Thus the hammer is free to strike the lower side of thespring-shank between rail and coil, while the damper-lifter is free toproject above the spring-shank between the back plate and the coil andto properly engage the damper-levers.

e is the rail to which the straight shanks of the springs are attachedby sockets f. This rail, which 1 term the spring-rail, is placed in theforward part of case a, so as to leave ample room between it and theback plate, a, for the reception of the springs. The rail 0 should bemade of metal and should be reenforced by ribs 6.

The damper-lifters g pass upward between the back plate, a, and the endsof the springs (I, and project through a perforated ledge, 72, as shown.These lifters raise the damp levers g, carrying dampers that engage theupper side of the spring-shanks. The hammers Z) act upon the shanks ofsprings (17, between rail 6 and the heads of the springs. Eachdamper-lifter is placed directly back of its spring, as shown, so thatthe lifter, the spring, and the hammer of each note are all in a line.Thus it will be seen that the damperlifters need not be set obliquely,as would be the case were they compelled to pass laterally from thesprings. Moreover, the head of each spring is placed between the hammerand the damper-lifter, and both are free to act without interfering withthe vibration of the spring. An additional advantage of thisconstruction is that no sounding-board whatever is employed, and thattherefore the piano may be built cheaply and of light material.

hat I claim is- The combination of rail 0 with the rearwanilly-extendingcoiled springs (7, secured thereto, and with hammers 7) anddamperlitters g at opposite sides of the springheads, the spring,damper-lifter, and hammcrof each note being in line with each other,substantially as specified.

GEORGE STECK.

Witnesses:

F. v. BRIEsEN, A. JONGHMANS.

